Saying Goodbye and Celebrating Reunions [Part 1 of 3]

The children, families and staff at UCCC have been going through many transitions over the past weeks,transitions that are a natural part of life yet, nonetheless, difficult. We are experiencing moving onto new schools and new classrooms, friends and teachers leaving, new friends and teachers arriving,new siblings and children being born and adopted, losing loved ones, and the list goes on. Everyday,however, is filled with transitions, including saying goodbye to your child in the morning and greetingone another again later in the day. A child and parent’s ability to have a “good goodbye” depends onmany things including his or her developmental stage, attachment, ability to separate, the caregiver’sfeelings about parting, and a parent’s ability to hold the child in mind during the day. At UCCC, we hopeto strengthen parent/child attachments by helping facilitate healthy daily separations and reunions.Rituals for goodbyes and reunions are important - we all need predictability and consistency in everydaylife, especially children who have much less control of their worlds than adults.

Every day is a transition – the transition from sleeping to being awake

Plan transitions that are sensitive to your child’s developmental stage and life experience.

Coming to and leaving school needs to be a transition, not a loss.

Let your child know you think about him or her during the day.Help your children learn how to say hello and goodbye, model it for them, but don’t force them to say it.